Results tagged “realestate”

There's something about the Old Sixth Ward that we really like. Maybe it's the charming old houses, or maybe the fact that the neighborhood feels like a small town even though it's barely outside downtown — or maybe it's that the OSW is so close to the bumpin' nightlife of Washington Avenue. (No, wait, it's probably not that last one, come to think of it.) Anyway, the point is that we really dig this Decatur Street home, which dates to 1883.

Shelterporn goes high-rise this week with a pad in The Houstonian Estates, the residential tower on the grounds of The Houstonian Hotel.

Devoted readers of Shelterporn will remember that we're fans of John Staub, one of Houston's most sought-after residential architects of the early 20th century. (Devoted readers of Shelterporn will also notice that there hasn't been much Shelterporn to read lately. Sorry about that.) We also love imagining what it would be like to live in River Oaks — the daily cocktail hour; long, relaxing drives in the Bentley; sipping cocktails while driving the Bentley — and so we couldn't resist pointing out that another Staub-designed River Oaks manse is on the market.

::Emerging Green Builders May Event ::

Blogist is a new feature in which Houstonist gives a shout-out to Texas-based blogs we enjoy.

Something has always drawn Houstonist to the neighborhood just northwest of the Contemporary Arts Museum. Perhaps it's the quietness of the neighborhood, its proximity to the Museum District, the charming homes that line its streets — or maybe it's simply the fact that we will never ever be able to afford to live there. Whatever the case may be, we were excited to find this 1923 William Ward Watkin-designed house for sale in that area — if we only had an extra $3 million lying around, we'd be living there.

Yes, we know, it's been a while — a long time, really — since Houstonist brought you the last installment of shelterporn, in which we indulge our fascination with both architecture and places we don't live. But, see, we've been busy doing what we do in our spare moments: driving the curving streets of River Oaks, pretending we live in the lap of luxury. "Yes," we tell passers-by as we stand very near the lawn of a sprawling River Oaks manse, "this is our little cottage. It's not much, but after all, we only have a staff of eight." (That's about as far as we usually get before the River Oaks Patrol shows up and kicks escorts us out of the neighborhood.)

Lars Bang, the architect responsible for many of the gorgeous and endangered mid-century modern homes in Houston, passed away last Friday, October 17th after a brief illness. He was 87 years old.

We took a trip over to the Heights today at lunch to see how the historic neighborhood was faring five days after Hurricane Ike. The Heights, like many other older neighbohoods in Houston, was badly battered by the high winds and tornados that Ike produced. The incredible wealth of beautiful old live oak and pecan trees in the neighborhood only gave Ike additional fodder during its destructive rampage.

We're not entirely sure what to think about this week's shelterporn home, a contemporary North Montrose model. Is it a house with a beautifully clean and modern exterior? Why yes — but what's inside is even more interesting, not least because it features (gulp) shiny black ceilings. No, .

It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here: The highly-anticipated grand opening of the Caroline Collective takes place this Saturday, June 7th beginning at 7:00 p.m. as Houston finally welcomes a coworking home of our own.

While the golden days of espresso and gelato with friends on the giant wooden deck at Dolce & Freddo are long behind us, the vacant building at San Felipe and Voss that once housed the popular Italian coffeehouse has stood neglected since its closure several years ago, a sad reminder of days past. Similarly, the wood-paneled, mid-century modern office buildings nestled around the former Dolce & Freddo slowly became abandoned and shuttered, blending into the heavy trees of the bayou around them over time.

Have we told you how much we like the work of John Staub? Well, if we haven't, consider yourself told (and if you look at Stephen Fox's new book on Staub, you'll be a fan, too). It's not every day that a Staub-designed house shows up on the market — especially not one as grand as the 1924 D.D. Peden house in Shadyside.

Yeah, yeah, we know — Shelterporn has slacked off, and in recent weeks you've had to look for your own dream real estate listings. We're awfully sorry to have put such a burden on you and are making a Chinese New Year's resolution to be more regular. We'll do better at keeping up with Shelterporn, too.

Ah, the sweet smack of gentrification strikes again -- this time targetting the ever-quirky and loveable Super Happy Fun Land. Their current building (2610 Ashland St.) has been sold in order to make room for more condominiums, which some apparently delusional real estate-type creature has decided our fair city is lacking. Super Happy Fun Land will be moving on out by the end of January 2008 to locations currently unknown. Have an idea for a...

Last week the AIA hosted their annual home tour, and tomorrow the Downtown Houston Alliance is giving folks a chance to see residences in some of Houston's most historic and moneyed buildings. The Live Downtown Home Tour is from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, November 3rd. Stops on the tour include Commerce Towers, The Beaconsfield (not the Savoy across the street!), the Four Seasons, Hogg Palace (no, not this place), and several other loft properties....

The Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo publicly stated opposition to the proposed redevelopment of the Astrodome into a hotel and convention center. Giving the reason that it would have negative effects on the Texans and the HLSR, spokesfolks didn't actually release details yet to back it up. Since the Astros' abandonment of the Astrodome, it has been tough to try to agree and finance good uses for it year-round. The hotel and...

Houstonist noticed about a month ago that something was missing near the corner of Bissonnet and Mt. Vernon streets, just west of Montrose Blvd. The house didn't seem to fit in, but it sure caught our eye - unfortunately it was recently demolished by the current owners. The house was located at 1 Waverly Court and was designed by Glassman Shoemake Maldonado Architects and built in 1999 to replace a beaten-up 1950s contemporary home by...

695 Rocky River - Tanglewood This week, the almost 5,000 square foot mid-century Tanglewood home designed by Ralph A. Anderson, Jr. (of Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson architects) met its demise - one in a series of many large (and large-lotted) unique mid-century homes in this close-in treed area to be replaced by even larger Mediterr-uscan-Spani-French style homes. According to the Houston Architectural Guide,The full impact of the Eisenhower era is visible here [in Tanglewood],...

If you didn't like the idea of our beloved Astrodome becoming a fancy hotel, then you won't be happy that a hotel plan is still in the works. The difference this time around, though, is that the new convention hotel will not incorporate the "historic" Texas themes which could have included an Alamo facade, faux courthouse, and a bunch of other corny things. The new plan, which doesn't yet have detailed renderings, opts for a...

We were hoping that the nearly posthumous landmark designation and demolition-delaying rain spells might have given Weingarten Realty that last little bit of time to ruminate over their plans to demolish the River Oaks Shopping Center - unfortunately, according to Cherry Demolition, the bulldozers move in Tuesday to begin the demolition and make way for the big box anchor Barnes and Noble plus a four story parking garage. We were sad to see places like...

9602 Moonlight Drive, located in Meyerland at the intersection of Braesheather Drive, is one of our all time favorite mid-century homes in Houston. It was designed and built by Robert Cohen in 1964, and he and his wife lived in the home until 2004 when it was sold to John M. O'Quinn - yes that O'Quinn. From the smell of it, O'Quinn (who lives in River Oaks) let the house sit for three years and...

Admit it: At one point or another, you've sat back and thought to yourself, "You know, I really wish I lived in an embassy." And sure, it would be fun, but who wants to deal with all those pesky diplomatic staffers? Well, we have good news: There's a pretty embassaic home available in River Oaks, and the only people who'll live there with you are the ones you invite. (Did we mention that we're looking...

More on Hines' proposed 47-story downtown skyscraper: The Chronicle has some details about the building and its design, and it looks like it really could be something different for the CBD. Plans call for the 630-foot building to be clad in glass, with the west facade featuring projecting vertical glass fins to shade offices from afternoon sunlight. Near the top of the building, on its east side, will be a notched opening that'll shelter...

Did you protest the taxes on your home this past year? If so, we hope you did your research on your neighbors’ appraisals already. If you didn’t, you’re out of luck. Thanks to a new law passed by the state, the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) was forced to pull their property appraisal database from their website this week. Don't get out your walking shoes yet – the information can't be obtained from the county...

Tuesday, August 7 at 2pm is the last chance for the public to speak about the pending historic landmark status of the River Oaks Shopping Center, River Oaks Theater, Alabama Shopping Center, and Alabama Theater in front of City Council. Members of the public must sign up to speak by 12pm Tuesday by calling the City Secretary Anna Russell (713-247-1840), and people who have already spoken to City Council on this issue may not do...

This morning, Houston City Council designated Old Sixth Ward as the first and only Protected Historic District in the city. This new status will enable the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission to prohibit the demolition of historic structures within Old Sixth Ward's 33.8 acres. There was only one dissenting vote for this measure, which came from council member/real estate broker Michael Berry. As far as actual limitations on properties within the district, the Greater Houston...

Trammell Crow, Co. has announced that their project at the former HISD Headquarters at 3830 Richmond Ave. will start immediately, just short of a year after the demolition. The project, called "Greenway Commons," includes a 164,000 square foot Costco to be topped with an LA Fitness health club. Three years ago, HISD accepted Trammel Crow's bid of about $38 million for the site, which included the administration building, annex, and Will Rogers Elementary. We were...

Everywhere we turn, we see new homes being built in the inner-city. Unfortunately, many of these are new homes (or townhomes, in many instances) where some historic houses and bungalows once sat. However, if the latest news in real estate holds true for the rest of the year, we may finally see a dramatic slow down in new homes being built. The Chronicle is reporting that new home sales have fallen 18 percent in the...